"Sir, no matter how sincere you may be in saying this, I am glad to say it."

This statement clearly reveals that Archduke Karl did not believe in Agron's sincerity very much.

It doesn't matter, Aiglon didn't expect that he would be able to fascinate others with a few words, not to mention that the Grand Duke had never seen any storms in his life, how could he be easily fooled by himself?

Anyway, it's not worth much if it's good, so it's good to liven up the atmosphere.

Aiglon only laughed and did not argue with the Grand Duke about how sincere his love for Austria was.

Then, Archduke Karl took the lead and took Aiglon and others for a walk in the garden, while Agron and the others followed suit, chatting with the Grand Duke.

Although Rong Ma has been in his career for decades, the Grand Duke is already 55 years old after all, and his energy is not good after all, so he stopped under the corridor of the botanical garden and looked at the flowers and plants in the garden with great interest.

"When I was a kid, it was a lot more lively!" He suddenly sighed, "Sometimes it's hard to imagine that you were the last child to grow up here. ”

Although the Grand Duke's words seem to be a bit clueless, the people in it can also understand it.

Although the Habsburg family faced a crisis of extinction before Empress Marie-Theresa came to power, after relying on the succession of sons-in-law, they suddenly became famous for their "high production".

Teresa and her husband were very affectionate, giving birth to 16 children, 9 of whom survived to adulthood; Her two sons, Joseph and Leopold, ascended to the throne, and Leopold also had 16 children, including the current emperor Franz and Archduke Karl himself.

One can imagine how prosperous the Habsburg family was during the Archduke's childhood, and this huge palace was once filled with the laughter of children.

However, perhaps because the Duke of Lorraine's fresh blood has expired, the situation seems to be different with the current emperor.

His Majesty the Emperor Franz was married four times, but only the first two marriages continued the bloodline, and a total of 12 children were born, many of which seemed to be many, but only two sons survived to adulthood - Crown Prince Ferdinand, who suffered from epilepsy and seemed incapable of governing the country and could never leave an heir, and the other was Princess Sophie's husband, the mediocre Archduke Franz-Karl.

As a result, Aiglon, who came here in 1814, is the only descendant of the imperial family who has grown up in Schönbrunn Palace in the last twenty years, which is ironic to think about.

However, although what Archduke Karl saw now could be called desolate, if he knew what happened later in history, I am afraid that he would be even more discouraged and despaired—

After Emperor Franz, the imperial blood of the Habsburgs became thinner, and all of them seemed to be extremely unlucky, the crown prince Ferdinand was forced to abdicate due to mental illness and passed the throne to his nephew Franz (that is, the son of Princess Sophie), and Franz was even more unlucky, his only son Rudolph committed suicide, his nephew Ferdinand died in the Sarajevo incident, and finally after his death in 1916, he could only pass the throne to his nephew Karl.

This Emperor Karl I, who became the last emperor of the empire, was deposed in 1918 due to the defeat in the world war, lost the empire, and died of pneumonia in 1922 at the age of 34.

In other words, in the following century, the Habsburgs did not have a direct line of succession......

What would be the expression of the Grand Duke Karl if he knew? Aglon thought to himself with malice.

"It's my pleasure." He replied calmly. "I love it here."

"yes, who wouldn't love it." The Grand Duke shrugged his shoulders, "It is because I love it that I, as a member of the family, have to defend it, even if it costs anything. ”

"I must say that you have a very good job at this job." Aglon said half-sincerely, half-flatteringly.

"Grades? If I leave the stage, no one will care how much I have done, the world will only remember me as a failed commander, or even remember me at all, and your father will enjoy more honor than he deserves. Archduke Karl pursed his lips and smiled slightly self-deprecatingly, "Sometimes I am really jealous of the Duke of Wellington, fate has given him the glory of defeating Napoleon in dignity, and I have been thrown aside at the last moment, and if I had been in Leipzig and not Schwarzenberg in 1813, my name would have been much brighter than it is now!" ”

After the defeat at the Battle of Wagram in 1809, Archduke Karl was outstretched, but he still believed that he had the strength to continue fighting Napoleon, after all, the French army suffered huge casualties, and even Napoleon himself was still worried.

However, his elder brother, Emperor Franz, was tired of the war and finally chose to sue for peace with Napoleon, and Archduke Karl angrily resigned to His Majesty the Emperor, and then he was refrigerated, and he could no longer command the Austrian army.

Later, Napoleon began to decline, suffered repeated setbacks in Spain and Russia, and was finally annihilated by the combined efforts of European countries - the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces at the Battle of Leipzig was none other than his former chief of staff, Prince Schwarzenberg, and it is conceivable that if there was no such turmoil, the commander-in-chief would have been this imperial brother.

The idle Archduke Karl, who was scattered, could only watch the most dazzling star of this era fall, but he did nothing in it, as a soldier and a commander, it was almost an unbearable ordeal.

Even though more than a dozen years have passed now, he still seems to be indignant.

Aiglon could understand the Grand Duke's depressed mood, but he had a complicated position, and it seemed that it was not right to say anything at the moment, so he simply chose to remain silent.

After all, it would be a bit too low to ask him to continue to compliment the Archduke that he was stronger than Napoleon or the Duke of Wellington, and he might be despised.

Unfortunately, although he didn't want to take the stubble, Archduke Karl continued to look at him.

"I know that, in your position, you may naturally be more inclined to Napoleon. I must admit that I hated him, but as a fellow traveler I have a great deal of respect for him, and I am not unlike the Duke of Wellington. We used to be rivals, but I can see the brilliance of his genius and it's a generational privilege to play against him. All I regret is that I have never been able to fight a war like him, that he is the undisputed ruler of a people, that the people follow him with their eyes closed, that he can squander the lives of the French, as he did in 1809, and that I can only be restrained and watch my honour being taken away from me, and that it would be very different if I could be as free as he was! ”

Seeing Archduke Karl look so serious, Agron couldn't help but laugh in his heart.

At such an age, he seemed to be stubbornly like a child on the subject—yes, men can be magnanimous in any matter, but they will never give up an inch on the subject they hold most dear.

"I think that putting aside all the factors of war, it is a very naïve behavior to simply discuss the ability of individual generals, fighting a war is not a game of chess, and it is divided into kings and queens, the vulgar opinions of the world cannot be used to evaluate you, and your peers will definitely recognize your ability and talent."

Aiglon looked at the other party and replied seriously, "Objectively speaking, your record is not comparable to Napoleon and Wellington, and you have no match for their honor; But as you said, there are so many complications that are not your responsibility, and your presence and command on the battlefield have been greatly appreciated by both of them, and your writings are just as valuable. ”

"Have you read my article?" Archduke Karl asked rhetorically.

"Yes, your "On the Tactics of Generals", my teacher once asked me to read it, and it was part of my studies." "Besides, I may wish to congratulate you on your defeat in 1809, for it was because of that defeat that my grandfather decided to sue for peace with the French, and finally agreed to Napoleon's proposal, and thus my existence—otherwise I would not have had the privilege of listening to you today!" ”

Hahahaha...... The Grand Duke was stunned at first, and then couldn't help but laugh. "That's not bad."

"You're his military teacher, aren't you?" He turned to Captain Forrestie, "Looks like you've taught him well." ”

"Your Highness is gifted and intelligent, and he is an excellent student that I have never met before." Captain Forrestie bowed his head and replied respectfully.

"Yes, that's good." He glanced at Aiglon again, then nodded, "That man is extraordinary after all, even the species that remains are a little different. It's a shame he's done with his empire, otherwise it's a little bit of an expectation that you'll be able to do something. ”

"It may be a good thing for me not to be an emperor, I have no interest in carrying the desires of a nation like him, and I don't want to squander the lives of a nation, maybe it is more suitable for me to live quietly in a corner and be an old pedant." Aiglon was still smiling, sinking all his true emotions to the bottom of the heart lake, "There is no only way to make achievements in the world, you say? ”

"Having said that, but in my opinion, it's better to be an emperor, let alone the empire, and my brother can be at the mercy of him." Archduke Karl muttered, and everyone should have not heard this "blasphemy against the king".

At this moment, Grand Duke Karl raised his hand, beckoned as if from a distance, and then greeted. "Here!"

Aiglon subconsciously followed his gesture and noticed a light figure pacing out of the botanical garden, slowly walking towards them.

Soon, he discovered that it was a young girl in a pale blue dress, with long brown hair pinned to the back of her head with a butterfly-shaped jeweled hairpin.

She looked about the same age as Agron, with a pale complexion and a slender figure, her willowy eyebrows and slender eyelashes that set off her eyes large and shining, and her gray-brown eyes were looking at the Grand Duke's side, examining them.

She holds a sketchbook in her right hand. It looks like you've just had a lot of harvest in the botanical garden.

"Franz, this is my daughter, Teresa." As she approached, Grand Duke Karl glanced at Agron, "You should have met a long time ago, and I brought her here that time—but I don't think you remember." ”

He really doesn't remember anymore.

And judging from the other party's gaze, Aiglon was sure that he had not made any impression on her.

Aiglon bowed to the maiden.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa."